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117_Harvey_David.htm Session output

New Cultures of Programming

Workshop 170 minutes

Tearing up the software development rulebook

David Harvey

Peter Marks

Most of us have lived through at least one revolution in software development. Structured programming, CASE, object orientation, software architecture, patterns - all seem to have promised to solve the problems of building software systems, yet still projects fail. In the first part this workshop session we will start by looking at and questioning some of the received wisdom surrounding development. We will ask the question - "what if this weren't so?" and share our experiences to build a picture of how development might be possible freed of the habits of organisation, approach and thought that have clearly failed the software industry to date.

In the second part we will look at three examples of an approach to development which - individually and collectively - challenge traditional assumptions. The Programmers' Stone, originally an eight-day course on thinking in programming, goes to the heart of creativity in software; Dynamics of Software Development is a seminal book which focuses on creating the right conditions to keep a team of minds in the game of software development; and Extreme Programming is a new discipline of development which, drawing on the unique nature of software, rigorously excludes all it considers to be inessential. Reflecting on these ideas, participants will write a new rulebook of values and principles for software development.

David Harvey (David.Harvey@wdr.com)

Waburg Dillon Read

David Harvey has over a decade of experience in designing, building and managing the development of software. He is currently Global Architect for ORB Infrastructure at Warburg Dillon Read, and has worked throughout the City of London on advanced middleware libraries and architectures. As a consultant he has helped organisations make effective use of object technology, and has delivered introductory and advanced training courses in C++ and OO design. He has presented sessions at the OT conference and elsewhere on C++, patterns, distributed computing and software architecture, jointly (with Paul Dyson) presented the UK's first workshop on Extreme Programming, and was conference chair for OT99.

Peter Marks (peter@connextra.com)

Connextra

Peter Marks has been developing software since childhood. Having spent most of his working life as a freelance consultant and developer, he is increasingly of the belief that, as software developers, we should seek to regain our childish invention, playful experimentation and imagination. His contributions to conferences in the UK in the last three years have included ruminations on the artistic in software and a plea for a simpler way: as a participatory games facilitator his giant inflatable ball and rubber ring have entered legend. He is currently involved in a wild Internet start-up.

Topics

Benefits

Participants will be introduced to some of the most radical new thinking in software development. By reflecting on their own experience, they will gain a deeper understanding of some of its underlying assumptions: in questioning and countering these they will take a step towards bringing new energy to their work in software.

Session: Workshop 170 minutes Level: beginner/intermediate
Audience: Anyone involved in developing or managing the development of software.

Max 30

Material

  • Overview and slides for conference materials
  • Workbook containing game instructions and a rule-book to be torn up for each participant.

    Delivery

    Outputs of reflection - new principles and values for software development

    Format

    Mixed games, presentations and whole-group and small-group discussion. The core of the first part of the session will involve examining some of the received wisdom in software development and asking - what happens if we don't do this? As we find more and more cases in which the rules are inadequate, participants will be required to tear the rule out of the book.

    In the second part, after an outline of several strands of new thinking in software development culture (Programmers' Stone, Dynamics of Software Development, Extreme Programming) and the commonalities expressed in these, small groups will be asked to come up with new rules expressing fundamental values in software development.

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